Irvin v. Thompson
| Decision Date | 02 April 1816 |
| Parties | Irvin, etc. v. Thompson. |
| Court | Kentucky Court of Appeals |
A deed obtained in consideration of relationship, and without notice of a prior equity will not prevail against that equity.
A letter of attorney, authorizing the sale of lands subscribed with the name of the party, by another person at her request and in her presence, is good.
ON the 28th May, 1805, Thompson entered into articles of agreement with John Irvin, as agent for Elizabeth Irvin, for the purchase of a tract of land of 400 acres, for which he was to pay at the rate of twenty shillings per acre, for all that should, upon a legal investigation to be had at the expense and trouble of said Elizabeth Irvin, be found clear of dispute or incumbrance, provided such investigation should be commenced in two years from the date of the agreement; but if the said Elizabeth should not choose to make such investigation, he was then to pay the sum of twenty-five pounds, in a young horse, for a conveyance with warranty from her and her heirs only. Subsequent to this agreement Elizabeth Irvin conveyed the same tract to Grundy and wife who was her neice, for no other consideration but that of the relation between them; and Grundy and wife afterward sold and conveyed to Haney, who had previous notice of Thompson's contract.
To obtain a conveyance agreeably to the terms of his contract Thompson filed his bill, making John and Elizabeth Irvin, Grundy and wife, and Haney, defendants. On a final hearing the Court below decreed in favor of Thompson, and the defendants have appealed to this Court.
As Haney had notice of Thompson's contract p??or to his purchase, it is evident he can stand in no better situation than Grundy and wife, under whom he claims; and as they are not purchasers for a valuable consideration, it is equally clear that they could not, had they still the legal title, protect themselves in the enjoyment of it on the ground of their not having notice of Thompson's prior equity, if any such he has; for they have not an equal equity to oppose to his, and the legal title only prevails where the equity is equal.
We are led then directly to the investigation of Thompson's equity, as it arises from the contract with John Irvin as the agent of Elizabeth Irvin. This depends, 1st, upon the authority John Irvin had to make such a contract; and 2dly, upon the fairness of the contract.
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Whether the President May Sign a Bill by Directing That His Signature Be Affixed to It
...the memorandum. It is equally a signing within the statute. Id. at 106-07. Other cases reached similar results. See, e.g., Irvin v. Thompson, 7 Ky. 295, 296 (1816) (holding that an agent validly signed a contract for the of real estate in his principal's name pursuant to an oral grant of au......